Method and apparatus for amplifying a signal and test device using same

ABSTRACT

An amplifier circuit is used in a multimeter to amplify signals applied between a pair of test terminals. A voltage applied to one of the test terminals is amplified by a first operational amplifier configured as a voltage follower. An output of the first operational amplifier is applied to an inverting input of a second operational amplifier configured as an integrator. An output of the second operational amplifier is connected to the other of the test terminals. A voltage generated at the output of the second operational amplifier provides an indication of the magnitude and polarity of the voltage applied to the first and second test terminals.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/881,699, filed Jul. 26, 2007. This application is incorporated byreference herein in its entirety and for all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates generally to amplifiers for increasing themagnitude of a voltage, and, more particularly, to an amplifier andmethod having a high input impedance, high bandwidth and highsignal-to-noise ratio.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Devices for measuring various electrical parameters, such as voltage,current and resistance are in common use. A typical example is amultimeter, which generally can measure AC or direct current (“DC”)voltage and current as well as resistance. Multimeters typically includea set of test leads that are adapted to be connected to a pair of testpoints. The test leads are coupled to an internal amplifier, whichdrives circuitry for providing information to a read-out device such asan analog meter or a digital display. A typical amplifier circuit 10 isshown in FIG. 1. The amplifier circuit 10 includes an operationalamplifier 12 having a non-inverting input connected to ground. Aninverting input of the operational amplifier 12 forms a summing junctionthat is connected to one input terminal 14 of the multimeter through aninput resistor 18 and to an output of the operational amplifier 12through a feedback resistor 20. Another input terminal 24 is connectedto ground. As is well-known in the art, the gain of the amplifier 12 isset by the ratio of the resistance of the feedback resistor 20 to theresistance of the input resistor 18.

It is generally desirable for a multimeter to have a very high inputimpedance. For this reason, the input resistor 18 typically has a veryhigh resistance, such as 1 MΩ. The resistance of the feedback resistor20 is typically much lower, such as 10 kΩ. Therefore, the gain of theamplifier 12 is low. Using the examples given (1 MΩ input resistor 18and 10 kΩ feedback resistor 20), the gain of the amplifier 12 would be0.01.

The output of the amplifier 12 is then applied to a high gain amplifier30. The low gain of the amplifier 12 attenuates the signal to bemeasured, but, unfortunately, it does not significantly attenuate noisethat may be present in the signal or present in the multimeter.Therefore, when the output of the amplifier 12 is boosted by the highgain amplifier 30, the signal-to-noise ratio of the measured signal canbe very low.

Another “front end” amplifier circuit 40 that is conventionally used inmultimeters is shown in FIG. 2. The circuit 40 also uses an operationalamplifier 44 configured as a voltage-follower with its output connectedto the inverting input of the amplifier 44. The signal to be measured isapplied to the non-inverting input of the amplifier 44 through aresistor 46. The amplifier 44 has a very high input impedance betweenits inverting and non-inverting inputs. However, to fix the inputimpedance at a constant, controllable value, an input resistor 48 may beused between the input terminal 14 and ground. The input resistor 48 mayhave a high resistance value, such as 1 MΩ. Unfortunately, straycapacitance and input capacitance of the amplifier 44, both of which arerepresented by a capacitor C, forms a low-pass filter with the resistor46. This low-pass filter can limit the AC response of the amplifiercircuit 40. Although the circuit 40 can still be used in the measurementof the voltage and current of DC signals, the low-pass filter can resultin measurement errors for AC signals, particularly if the AC signalshave a high frequency.

There is therefore a need for a circuit for amplifying a signal to bemeasured in a manner that results in a high signal-to-noise ratio, ahigh, stable input impedance and good high frequency performance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An apparatus and method for amplifying a signal applied between firstand second input terminals includes an output voltage generator thatprovides an output voltage having a magnitude equal to the voltageapplied to the first input terminal. The output voltage generator alsoprovides the output voltage with a polarity that is opposite thepolarity of the voltage applied to the first input terminal referencedto a fixed voltage. The output voltage generator provides the outputvoltage to the second input terminal. The output voltage generator maybe a negative integrating driver circuit having a first input coupled tothe first test terminal, a second input coupled to a fixed voltage, andan output coupled to the second test terminal. The negative integratingdriver circuit is operable to integrate a voltage applied to the firsttest terminal. The integration accomplished by the negative integratingdriver circuit is at a polarity opposite the polarity of the voltageapplied to the first test terminal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an embodiment of a prior art amplifier circuit that is oftenused in a test and measurement device.

FIG. 2 is another embodiment of a prior art amplifier circuit that isoften used in a test and measurement device.

FIG. 3 is an embodiment of an amplifier circuit according to oneembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is an embodiment of an amplifier circuit according to anotherembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a multimeter shown measuring an AC voltageusing the amplifier circuit of FIG. 3 or 4 or an amplifier circuitaccording to some other embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An amplifier circuit 50 according to one embodiment of the invention isshown in FIG. 3. The amplifier circuit 50 includes a negativeintegrating driver circuit 51 having a pair of input terminals 52, 53.One of the input terminals 52 is connected to a first test terminal 54,and the other input terminal 53 is connected to ground. An input voltageV_(IN) to be measured is applied between the first test terminal 54 anda second test terminal 56. The output of the negative integrating drivercircuit 51 is connected to the second test terminal 56 and to a firstoutput terminal 58. A second output terminal 59 is connected to ground.An output voltage V_(OUT) generated between the terminals 58, 59provides an indication of the magnitude the voltage V_(IN) applied tothe test terminals 54, 56. The negative integrating driver circuit 51integrates with respect to time the input voltage V_(IN) applied betweenthe test terminals 54, 56 at a polarity that is opposite the polarity ofthe input voltage V_(IN). For example, if the input voltage V_(IN) is aconstant +5 volts, the output of the negative integrating driver circuit51 will increase negatively at a constant rate.

The amplifier circuit 50 has the unusual property of having the outputof a circuit, i.e., the negative integrating driver circuit 51,connected to an input terminal, i.e., the test terminal 56. Inoperation, assume the voltage at terminal 56 referenced to ground isinitially 0 volts. The voltage at terminal 54 referenced to ground willtherefore be equal to the voltage V_(IN) applied between the testterminals 54, 56. This voltage is applied to the negative integratingdriver circuit 51, which integrates this voltage negatively. Eventually,the voltage at the output of the negative integrating driver circuit 51is equal to the −V_(IN), i.e., the negative of the voltage V_(IN)between the terminals 54, 56. At this point, the voltage of the firsttest terminal 54 will be 0 volts, which is applied to the input of thenegative integrating driver circuit 51. The negative integrating drivercircuit 51 therefore stops integrating to maintain the voltage at thetest terminal 56 at the negative of the voltage V_(IN) between theterminals 54, 56. The output voltage V_(OUT) taken between the terminals58, 59 then has a value that is the inverse of the voltage V_(IN) beingmeasured. For example, if +5 volts is applied between the terminals 54,56, the output of the negative integrating driver circuit 51 will be −5volts. At this point, the voltage at the terminal 54 referenced toground will be 0 volts. As a result, the negative integrating drivercircuit 51 will stop further integrating so that the voltage V_(OUT)between the output terminals 58, 59 will be maintained at −5 volts. Thenegative integrating driver circuit 51 can have an integration timeconstant that is short enough to provide the amplifier circuit withadequate high-frequency response. Thus, changes in the voltage appliedbetween the test terminals 54, 56 that are within the frequency responseof the negative integrating driver circuit 51 do not result in anycurrent flow between the input terminals 54, 56. Therefore, the lowfrequency input impedance, i.e., de(t)/di(t), at the input terminals 54,56 is virtually infinite as long as the isolation between either of theinput terminals 54, 56 and ground is complete.

An amplifier circuit 60 according to another embodiment of the inventionis shown in FIG. 4. The amplifier circuit 60 includes a negativeintegrating driver circuit 62, which includes an operational amplifier64 configured as a voltage-follower by coupling its output to itsinverting input. The non-inverting input of the amplifier 64 isconnected to a first test terminal 66 through a resistor 70, which mayhave a value of 100 k or any other suitable value. The output of theamplifier 64 is connected through a resistor 74 to an inverting input ofanother operational amplifier 80. This amplifier 80 has itsnon-inverting input grounded and its inverting input connected to itsoutput through a capacitor 84 so that it functions as an invertingintegrator. The integration time constant is set by the product of theresistance of the resistor 74 and the capacitance of the capacitor 84.In one embodiment, the resistor 74 has a resistance 200 ohms, and thecapacitor has a capacitance of 100 picofarads, but other values can beused. By using the operation amplifier 64 as a voltage follower, theintegration time of the amplifier 80 can be made proportional to thegenerally lower resistance of the resistor 74 rather than to thegenerally higher resistance of the resistor 70. The output of theamplifier 80 is connected to a second test terminal 88. A voltage V_(IN)to be measured is applied between the terminals 66, 88. A resistor 90 isconnected between the test terminals 66, 88 to set the input impedanceof the amplifier circuit 60. In one embodiment, the resistor 90 has aresistance 1 MΩ), but other values can be used. Also, the resistor 90can be omitted to provide a virtually infinite low frequency inputimpedance. A first output terminal 94 of the amplifier circuit 60 isobtained from the output of the amplifier 80, and a second outputterminal 96 is connected to ground. An output voltage V_(OUT) isgenerated between the terminals 94, 96.

In operation, the voltage V_(IN) applied between the test terminals 66,88 is again applied to the amplifier 80. The amplifier 80 thenintegrates this voltage negatively. Eventually, the voltage at theoutput of the amplifier 80 referenced to ground is equal to the voltageV_(IN) between the terminals 66, 88. At this point, the voltage of thefirst test terminal 66 referenced to ground will be 0 volts, which isapplied to the input of the amplifier 80. The amplifier 80 thereforestops integrating to maintain the voltage at the output of the amplifier80 at the negative of whatever voltage V_(IN) is being measured betweenthe terminals. The output voltage V_(OUT) taken between the terminals94, 96 then has a value that is the inverse of the voltage V_(IN) beingmeasured. For example, if +5 volts is applied between the terminals 66,88, the output of the amplifier 64 will be at 5 volts. The amplifier 80then begins integrating negatively so that the voltage at the output ofthe amplifier 80 negatively increases, thereby correspondingly reducingthe voltage at the test terminal 66 toward 0 volts. When the integrationhas proceeded to the point that the output of the amplifier 80 is at −5volts, the voltage at the terminal 66 will be 0 volts. At this point,the amplifier 64 will apply 0 volts to the amplifier 80, which will thenstop further integrating so that the voltage V_(OUT) between the outputterminals 94, 96 will be maintained at −5 volts referenced to ground. Ifthe test terminals 66, 88 were suddenly shorted, a voltage of −5 voltswould be applied to the amplifier 64, which would cause the amplifier 80to integrate positively toward 0 volts. When the output of the amplifier80 reached 0 volts, the integration would stop. By appropriatelychoosing the values of the resistor 74 and the capacitor 84, theintegration time can be made sufficiently short that the high-frequencyresponse of the amplifier circuit 60 is adequate.

The amplifier circuit 50 or 60, or an amplifier circuit according tosome other embodiment of the invention, is shown used in a multimeter100 in FIG. 5. The multimeter 100 includes a digital display 104,manually operable buttons 106, and a rotatable mode selector switch 108,which is shown in a position to measure AC voltage. Although themultimeter 100 uses a digital display 104, it will be understood thatother types of displays may be used, such as an analog meter (notshown). Also, of course, controls other than the buttons 106 andselector switch 108, may be used. A pair of test leads 110, 112 haveplugs 116, 118 that are plugged into respective jacks 120, 122. The plug118 is inserted into the jack 122 to measure AC or DC voltage, but it isplugged into either of an additional pair of jacks 124, 126 to measurecurrent or resistance, respectively. The plug 116 is inserted into thejack 120 for all measurements. The test leads 110, 112 are connectedthrough respective test probes 130, 132 to respective test points in theform of respective wires 136, 138. The jack 120 is connected to anoutput terminal of a negative integrating driver circuit 140, which maybe the negative integrating driver circuit 51 or 62, or a negativeintegrating driver circuit according to another embodiment of theinvention. The jack 122 is connected to the input of the negativeintegrating driver circuit 140. An output of the negative integratingdriver circuit 140 is connected to appropriate processing circuitry 144,which provides signals to the display 104 to provide a voltageindication.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that, although specificembodiments of the invention have been described herein for purposes ofillustration, various modifications may be made without deviating fromthe spirit and scope of the invention. For example, the operationalamplifier 64 may be omitted so that the test terminal 66 is applieddirectly to the amplifier 80 through one of the resistors 70 or 74.Other variations will be apparent to one skilled in the art.Accordingly, the invention is not limited except as by the appendedclaims.

1. An amplifier circuit, comprising: a first test terminal; a secondtest terminal; a first output terminal; a second output terminal coupledto a first fixed voltage; and an output voltage generator having a firstinput coupled to the first test terminal, a second input coupled to asecond fixed voltage, and an output coupled to the second test terminaland the first output terminal, the first and second test terminals beingconfigured to receive an input voltage applied between the first andsecond test terminals, the output voltage generator being configured toapply to the second test terminal and the first output terminal avoltage corresponding to the magnitude of the second fixed voltage minusthe magnitude of the input voltage.
 2. The amplifier circuit of claim 1,further comprising an input resistor coupled between the first testterminal and the second test terminal.
 3. The amplifier circuit of claim1 wherein the first fixed voltage has a magnitude that is equal to themagnitude of the second fixed voltage.
 4. The amplifier circuit of claim3 wherein the first fixed voltage and the second fixed voltage are zerovolts.
 5. The amplifier circuit of claim 1 wherein the output voltagegenerator comprises a negative integrating driver circuit having a firstinput coupled to the first test terminal, a second input coupled to thesecond fixed voltage, and an output coupled to the second test terminal,the negative integrating driver circuit being configured to integrate avoltage applied to the first test terminal referenced to the secondfixed voltage, the integration being at a polarity opposite the polarityof the voltage applied to the first test terminal referenced to thesecond fixed voltage, the negative integrating driver circuit providingan output voltage to the output of the negative integrating drivercircuit that is indicative of the integration.
 6. The amplifier circuitof claim 5 wherein the negative integrating driver circuit comprises: anamplifier having a gain, the amplifier having a first input coupled tothe first test terminal, a second input coupled to the second fixedvoltage, and an output; and an integrator having an input coupled to theoutput of the amplifier and an output coupled to the second testterminal, the integrator being configured to integrate a voltagereceived from the output of the amplifier to provide an output voltageto the second test terminal, the integrator having an integrationpolarity that is opposite a polarity of the gain of the amplifier. 7.The amplifier circuit of claim 6 wherein the amplifier has a unity gain.8. The amplifier circuit of claim 7 wherein the amplifier comprises anoperational amplifier having an inverting input connected to an outputof the operational amplifier, and a non-inverting input coupled to thefirst test terminal.
 9. The amplifier circuit of claim 8 wherein theamplifier further comprises a resistor connected between the first testinput terminal and the non-inverting input of the operational amplifier.10. The amplifier circuit of claim 1 wherein the output voltagegenerator is configured to apply a voltage to the second test terminalthat causes the voltage at the first test terminal to be equal to thesecond fixed voltage when the input voltage is being applied between thefirst and second test terminals.
 11. A method of amplifying an inputvoltage, comprising: applying the input voltage between first and secondinput terminals, the input voltage being equivalent to the potentialdifference between the first and second input terminals; generating anoutput voltage on the basis of a comparison between the voltage at thefirst input terminal and a fixed voltage; and applying the outputvoltage to the second input terminal, the output voltage applied to thesecond input terminal causing the voltage at the first input terminal tobe equal to the fixed voltage when the input voltage is being appliedbetween the first and second input terminals.
 12. The method of claim 11wherein the act of generating the output voltage comprises integratingan intermediate voltage with respect to time, the intermediate voltagehaving a magnitude determined by the magnitude of the voltage applied tothe first input terminal referenced to the fixed voltage.
 13. The methodof claim 11 wherein the act of generating an output voltage comprisesgenerating an output voltage having a magnitude determined by frequencycomponents of the input voltage that are below predetermined frequencylimit.